Ransomed
by Ziggy777
Summary: Set six years after Prisoner's Dilemma, Mr Curtain and the Ten Men have escaped prison and abduct Milligan, Number Two and Rhonda, leaving Mr Benedict with no option but to obey Mr Curtain's demands. Can Kate, Reynie, Sticky and Constance rescue them and stop Mr Curtain's plans? Features all characters but focuses slightly more on Kate :)
1. Distractions and Disasters

My first attempt at a Mysterious Benedict Society fanfiction so any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much for reading! :)

Milligan lent against the tree trunk, hat perched jauntily on his head, the darkness the night provided ensuring that he would not be seen. He stared out towards the gate with his piercing blue eyes assessing any movement that the light night breeze caused. Nothing suspicious, Milligan sighed. It had been nearly a year since Mr. Curtain had escaped or, more accurately, had been broken out of the high security prison in which he had been incarcerated for the best part of five years. Despite the evil genius being at large for a year, he had made no attempt to contact Mr. Benedict, in fact, none of the agents looking for him had found anything they could use to track him down, he had disappeared without a trace.

Milligan sighed again and scanned the length of the hedge. So much had changed due to Mr. Curtain's escape; Mr. Benedict had had to install trusted government agents to stand guard around the Washington's house and the old mansion day and night, Reynie, Sticky and Constance who had been at university and school respectively, had been forced to abandon their institutions and continue with their education in Mr. Benedict's mansion where they could be provided with the necessary protection. The same went for for Miss Perumal and Mr. and Mrs. Washington, who had all been forced to leave their jobs. Milligan himself had been forced out of his retirement from the secret service and was now employed as both a senior agent in the search for Mr. Curtain and night guard for Mr. Benedict's house and it's occupants. Milligan knew that these jobs were very important, but so far they had been much less exciting than Milligan had anticipated. With the search going nowhere and nothing interesting happening while on guard, Milligan found his concentration slipping.

He sighed for the third time and stretched before leaning back into his original position against the tree and his thoughts turned to his daughter. Where Reynie and Sticky had raced through their high school education and started university courses a year early (two in Sticky's case), Kate had struggled. It wasn't that she had found the material overly hard, she had understood it all, she just couldn't concentrate when it came to revising and sitting in exams. Milligan recalled fondly the time he had been called into the school because Kate had climbed onto the roof of the sports hall to get Madge to come to her.

'She wouldn't come down with all the other children surrounding her in the playground!' said Kate as if it was obvious to the shocked teachers who were staring at the falcon perched happily on the young girl's arm. Milligan had fought very hard to keep the grin off his face when the concerned headmistress had sat both the Wetherall's down in her office, explained what had happened to Milligan and then explained to Kate that climbing school buildings was reckless, dangerous and simply 'not acceptable in a school environment' in a squeaky voice. Milligan had never thought that Kate would want to follow Reynie and Sticky into university and he was right, but when she had turned eighteen and told Milligan that she had been enrolled into a secret service training programme, he had been furious. He hadn't wanted that kind of life for his daughter, but after she had finished her first term at the programme and seen how happy she was, his fury had lessened. Now, two years later Kate was a junior agent assigned to a surveillance mission in Magadan, Russia.

'I'm so proud of you Katie-Cat' Milligan whispered to himself as he checked his luminous watch, 3:34 am. Suddenly the sharp snap of a twig breaking at the end of the hedge broke the silence. Milligan stood stock still, fully alert, his senses heightened by adrenaline.

'Jameson, you see anything?' Milligan breathed into the radio on his sleeve cuff.

'Nothing from my side of the roof Milligan' came the reply into Milligan's earpiece.

'Okay, I'm going to patrol down the hedge just in case, keep eyes on the gate' whispered Milligan.

'Affirmative' replied Jameson.

Milligan walked silently, peering into the dark hedge, looking for any signs of people on the other side. He reached the spot where he heard the twig snap and carefully scanned the hedge from top to bottom. Nothing.

'Anything?' he asked again to his sleeve.

'Nothing, no movement aside from the breeze' said Jameson.

Milligan walked back to his spot by the tree and resumed looking at the gate. Although he had found nothing, he couldn't help but feel tense, something now seemed off. He glanced around at the front door of the house, the cellar door, the hedge and then back to the gate. Nothing had changed. Milligan took a deep breath, his imagination was clearly getting the better of him. He lifted his arm to check the time again but before he could read the number, something extremely large and extremely heavy fell out of the tree branches above him and knocked him out cold.

Sticky woke suddenly to a crash followed by a loud yelp. Disorientated, he fumbled for his glasses and then stumbled slowly to the window and looked across the street to a most extraordinary sight. The grounds around Mr. Benedict's mansion were shrouded in a faint mist (most unusual for May Sticky thought)that all the guards were desperately trying to avoid. Sticky watched in horror as a guard tripped over his own feet and the mist swept over him. Two seconds later the mist cleared, revealing the guard curled up in a fetal position, fast asleep.

'Oh no, oh no no no' Sticky murmured whipping his spectacles off his face to polish them.

'Sticky! Sticky what's going on?' Mrs Washington shouted from her bedroom downstairs (she too had been woken up from the chaos unfolding opposite).

'I-I'm not sure Mum' he replied as he ran down the stairs to his parents room.

'What are those men doing?' Mrs Washington asked, using a crutch to point to a tall man in a black suit wearing a respirator mask and carrying a briefcase walking through the garden gate. Sticky's stomach felt like it would jump out of his throat.

'Ten Men' he croaked, his throat constricting in fear. Mr Washington put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder and wiped his head with his handkerchief, worry etched on his face.

'Ten Men? But, but what do they want?' said Mrs Washington in shock as tears formed in her eyes.

As Sticky replied that it was most likely Mr Benedict the Ten Men were here for, lights from inside the mansion turned on, illuminating the windows in yellow. Sticky could see the silhouettes of Reynie, Miss Perumal and her mother as they appeared in one window, disappeared, then reappeared by the landing window on the second floor where they were joined by Mr. Benedict, a slowly moving Constance who was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rhonda and Number Two. It was like he was watching a silent film Sticky thought as Mr. Benedict started talking firmly and urgently to Miss Perumal and Mrs Perumal who both nodded and then grabbed Constance and Reynie by their arms, dragging them out of sight. Mr. Benedict now appeared to be arguing with Rhonda and Number Two who had both folded their arms and were shaking their heads in disagreement. Suddenly all three stiffened and turned to face where Sticky knew the stairs to be. The Washington's watched in horror as the silhouettes of five Ten Men wearing masks appeared one after another on the landing. Mr. Benedict stepped forward towards the Ten Men and appeared to be trying to negotiate with them, but as far as Sticky could tell, the Ten Men made no verbal response. Instead three a them lifted what looked like a can of spray paint. Rhonda lunged at the can but two Ten Men stepped into her path, knocking her back. The Ten Men with the spray-cans lifted them high above their headsand then pressed the nozzle. Immediately, the landing began to fill with the faint mist that had incapacitated the guards, obscuring Mr. Benedict, Rhonda, Number Two and the Ten Men from view.

Sticky was out of the front door before his brain had caught up with what his body was doing. Ignoring his parents shouts for him to come back in the house to safety, he ran through the gate into Mr. Benedict's front garden. As soon as Mr. Benedict had disappeared into a cloud of mist on the landing, Sticky had realised that he couldn't just stand there and observe as his friends faced the Ten Men without him even trying to help. The mist had cleared from the garden and he came across the unnerving sight of five guards fast asleep on the lawn. His heart pounding Sticky turned his attention to an odd looking log at the base of the tree. Taking a step closer, he realise that in actual fact it wasn't a log, but a hat. Milligan's hat. Sticky felt a surge of hope coarse through him, if Milligan hadn't succumbed to the mist then maybe he was inside, helping Mr. Benedict and everyone else. Sticky walked forward to pick up Milligan's hat and stepped in something wet (in his haste he had forgotten to put any shoes on). Muttering, he lifted his foot towards the light from a nearby window and immediately recoiled when he saw that his foot was covered in a deep red substance. Blood.

'Oh no, Milligan!' Sticky yelled as he furiously wiped Milligan's blood off of his foot on the grass. Sticky took a deep breath and looked up at the imposing house which had fallen strangely silent. Milligan was obviously severely injured somewhere and with all the guards asleep, there was no one else to help. Now it wasn't that Sticky had magically obtained some of Kate's reckless confidence or Reynie's bravery to always do the right thing. He was still a very anxious person and didn't pretend to be otherwise, but he was now nineteen and nearly six and a half feet tall so he thought that he could handle the Ten Men with more success and confidence than he had when he was thirteen. Also, he knew that if he was the one being attacked by Ten Men, then none of his friends would even hesitate to come to his rescue, not even ten year old Constance.

Most unfortunately for Sticky before he could take so much as a step nearer the house, before he even knew what was happening, a Ten Man leapt out of the tree and sprayed nearly a full can of the 'sleep mist' straight into Sticky's face. Shocked, Sticky stumbled back as the mist condensed on his glasses lens, taking a deep breath out of surprise as he did so. Instantly Sticky felt his vision blur and his thoughts swirl confusedly until the velvety blackness overpowered him. He was asleep before he hit the ground.


	2. From Bad To Worse

Reynie, Miss and Mrs Perumal had spent the past few hours in a state of high anxiety. Constance, (almost unbelievably) had fallen asleep after they had spent their first hour in the attic where Mr. Benedict had instructed them to hide. Reynie checked his watch, 6:51 am.

'Amma, I need to see what's happening' Reynie whispered trying not to disturb the softly snoring Constance who was lying on his legs.

'How many times Reynie? Mr. Benedict said stay here until he or Milligan comes for us, we don't know if it's safe yet' replied Miss Perumal sternly.

Reynie lifted Constance off his legs, placing her head on an old, mottled cushion and stood up.

'I'm sorry Amma, but it's been over three hours now, I should have gone ages ago'

'Reynie no!' Miss and Mrs Perumal whispered hoarsely as Reynie made his way over to the trap door. He gave an apologetic smile and gingerly lifted the trapdoor, only to find himself looking at a fist.

Reynie leapt back, tripped over Constance and dropped the door.

'Owww Reynie, why?' moaned Constance groggily. A sharp knock sounded on the trap door, silencing Constance's mutterings about a 'buffoon named Muldoon'. All the occupants of the attic stared at each other, frozen.

'Reynie? It's Ms. Plugg' came a muffled voice below them.

'Ms. Plugg! Thank goodness!' said Mrs Perumal whose back was aching terribly from sitting uncomfortably on the hard attic floor for hours.

Reynie re-opened the trapdoor to see Ms. Plugg standing on a chest of drawers (Reynie had pulled up the ladder into the attic), nursing a bruised hand.

'I'm so sorry Ms. Plugg!' Reynie said apologetically as he lowered the ladder and climbed down.

'Not to worry Reynie, I dare say I surprised you, dropping the door appears to be very effective though' replied Ms. Plugg twisting her hand to see the damage better.

Now that his eyes had adjusted to the brightness (it was nearly pitch black in the attic) Reynie noticed how exhausted Ms. Plugg was. Her eyes were puffy, she had another nasty bruise at her hairline and her hands were shaking slightly.

'What happened Ms Plugg?' asked Miss Perumal who had also noticed the older woman's ragged appearance.

'It, it was the Ten Men' whispered Ms Plugg. Everyone gasped.

'They had this sort of 'sleep gas' I guess you could call it that they sprayed, knocking out all the guards outside, that's how I got this bruise when I was knocked out and fell on a concrete flowerpot' Ms. Plugg gestured to her forehead.

'What did they want? What did they take? Where's Mr Benedict?' rushed Constance getting more and more worked up.

'Mr Benedict's fine, he's down in his study' replied Ms Plugg, looking at them all with dejected eyes, 'but, but I'm afraid, Rhonda and Number Two, they were taken.'

Reynie's stomach plummeted. The room was silent. Constance's mouth hung open in shock.

'Number Two and Rhonda?' whispered Mrs Perumal, 'but they're some of the best agents, how?' she said in disbelief.

'Mr Benedict told me when I woke up' said Ms Plugg wiping her eyes. 'It was the sleep gas, they corner them and Mr Benedict on the landing, naturally, Rhonda and Number Two wouldn't leave him despite his protests. Anyway, the used the sleep gas, none of them could do anything and they took them.'

'Why wasn't Mr. Benedcict taken as well?' asked Miss Perumal after the shock at the dreadful news had diminshed a fraction.

'By not taking him but holding Rhonda and Number Two ransom, he'll have no choice but to do whatever Mr. Curtain wants of him. If they had taken just Mr. Benedict, then he could resist without any consequences for anyone else' answered Reynie, staring at the wall, who had been wondering the same thing.

'But, but why take anyone at all? We need to find them now before they get too far away, before Curtain can ransom anyone!' shouted Constance, angry tears in her eyes.

'Don't worry Constance, agents are already in hot persuit' assured Ms. Plugg.

'Let's go down, we can find out more and get a drink' suggested Miss Perumal smiling at Constance, trying to distract her for a moment. Constance glared at her but followed silently as they all rushed down the stairs. The adults ushered them into the dining room before they went to find Mr. Benedict. Slumped at the dining room table was Sticky. At the sound of Reynie's and Constance's footsteps he jumped up and adopted what looked like a novice's attempt at a karate postion.

'What, are you doing?' asked Constance looking at Sticky with a very concerned expression. Sticky dropped his fists.

'Nothing, I thought you might be Ten Men' he said shrugging his shoulders, his cheeks reddening slightly.

'I'm glad you're alright' said a relieved Reynie as he went over to hug his close friend.

'I'm glad _you're_ both alright!' responded Sticky when he let go of Reynie. 'I saw everything from my house you know, the Ten Men had this sort of 'sleep mist' in spraycans that knocked out all the guards. It must affect the suprachiasmatic nucleus and subsequentially send someone straight into slow wave sleep-'

'Oi Washington, half my family has just been abducted, I don't need a science lesson' said Constance angrily.

'Sorry Constance' said Sticky kindly. He knew Constance's angry tone was just a front to hide her anxiety. 'Anyway, I saw the Ten Men corner Mr. Benedict, Rhonda and Number Two on the second floor landing after you lot had disappeared, so then I tried to come in and help but before I even got in the house and Ten Man sprayed me' said Sticky glancing at Reynie apologetically. 'I'm sorry I couldn't have helped more' he added looking down at his feet dejectedly.

'Hey you were brave to even think about coming to help!' said Reynie putting a hand on Sticky's shoulder, 'you did more than me, I just hid in the attic, I should've done more' Reynie whispered feeling terribly guilty.

'You would've been sleep misted and then when would have to be rescuing you as well' said Constance not unkindly, smiling up at both of them.

'Why didn't they take me though?' questionned Sticky, 'I was just lying there, helpless.'

'I don't know' said Reynie frowning slightly, 'Maybe they only needed two hostages, or maybe Rhonda and Number Two specifically, they know Mr Benedict best after all.'

'Three' said Sticky.

'Three?' queried Reynie.

'Yes, three.'

'Three what?' exclaimed Constance who was looking up at Sticky in confusion.

'Three hostages, not two! Hasn't anyone told you?' said Sticky wide-eyed, gazing at Constance's and Reynie's baffled expressions. Reynie shook his head.

'Milligan was t-taken too. One of the guards, Jameson, told me when I woke up that a Ten Man jumped on Milligan from up the tree, knocking him out straight away. No one saw the Ten Man in the tree because the leaves provided a perfect amount of cover and no one saw the Ten Man climb up the tree because Milligan walked away for a moment to check a noise he heard. It must have been a deliberate distraction..' Sticky mused.

'Anyway, Milligan was knocked out and Jameson saw him bleeding but before he could do anything, the Ten Man picked up Milligan and as he ran though the gate he started spraying the sleep mist. The other Ten Men flooded in and, well, you know the rest' mumbled Sticky

Reynie's stomach seemed to nosedive as he looked at his friends in shock. The Ten Men had manage to capture the seemingly indestructible Milligan. Milligan who would die before giving up information or letting anyone come to harm. Instantly a most unpleasant thought crossed Reynie's mind making his stomach plunge even further.

'Who's going to tell Kate?' he asked. The three quarters of the Mysterious Benedict Society looked at each other, each with sinking hearts.

Sticky, Reynie and Constance sat silently in Mr. Benedict's study as he finished a phonecall that had lasted at least ten minutes. The Washingtons and Perumals along with Moocho Brazos (who had been sent to sleep my the gas also but had managed to knock out a couple of Ten Men beforehand) were sat in the dining room going through the files on Milligan's laptop about Mr Curtain, hoping to find a lead as to where he might be. Finally, Mr Benedict put the phone down, took a deep breath and clasped his hands.

'As you all surmised, that was the head of the agents in charge of finding Ledroptha, whose new mission is to find our friends, our family' Mr. Benedict said somberly.

'Have they got any leads?' Constance cut in.

'Yes they do Constance, but we must wait until Kate has arrived before we discuss the situation any further don't you think?'

Constance nodded in agreement but opened her mouth to ask another question.

'Kate will be here shortly' Mr. Benedict said anticipating the young girl's next enquiry, 'her flight landed fortyfive minutes ago so she will no doubt have been picked up by Ms. Plugg by now' he added, glancing at his watch.

As soon as he'd recovered somewhat from the initial shock of the morning's events, Mr. Benedict had contacted Kate's senior agent and told her there had been a family emergency. Since Milligan was a very highly respected agent, Kate's senior agent had granted her leave from their current mission and sent her on the first plane to Stonetown without question or hesitation.

Reynie was extremely nervous about seeing Kate, as was Sticky who kept swivelling his head to the door and back every couple of seconds. They both knew how much Kate loved but also worried about her father; the news that he had been attacked and abducted would no doubt have upset her considerably.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on the door but before Mr Benedict could answer, they door burst open and in flew Kate. In an instant, everyone in the room had been hugged so tightly that they had to gasp for breath. Sticky was clutching at his heart.

'Oh thank goodness you're all okay!' Kate cried relieved, 'I thought maybe you had all been taken as well, Mimi, my senior agent, said that Milligan had been taken but didn't say who else! Who else has been taken?' added Kate breathlessly, looking at Mr Benedict, her temporary relief quickly replaced for concern.

'Please take a seat my dear and then I shall fill you in completely' said Mr Benedict gesturing to an empty chair.

'Is it okay if I stand? It's just I've been trapped on a flight for nearly seven hours' said Kate apologetically, bouncing up and down on her toes.

Mr Benedict nodded and proceeded to tell Kate everything. The rest of the Mysterious Benedict Society watched as Kate's expression turned from concern, to disbelief, to anger and back to concern as Mr Benedict recounted the night's events. Despite the circumstances, they were all exceptionally pleased to see Kate again who had been gone on her mission for three months and everytime she did something so endearing familiar like bouncing on her toes or fiddling with the lid of her red bucket, they smiled privately at each other. Reynie was impressed at how well she appeared to be handling the fact that her father was missing, and then he remembered that she'd had a seven hour plane journey to think things through a bit.

'Now that you're up to speed, I'd like to clarify something for you all' Mr Benedict said seriously drawing the rest of them out from their thoughts.

'As Ledroptha planned, I have no choice but to obey whatever he demands of me' he began, holding up a hand to silence Kate who had been about to argue, 'I have endangered the lives of Rhonda, Number Two and Milligan a great deal already and I will not do so any further by directly disobeying whatever he requests, also-'

'Milligan wouldn't want you to do that!' interrupted Kate clenching her fists.

'And neither would Number Two and Rhonda' added Constance in a small voice looking up at Mr. Benedict with large eyes. 'They'd want you to stop Mr. Curtain, not play along with his stupid requests, whatever the consequences for themselves.'

'I realise that' Mr. Benedict said nodding at Kate and Constance, 'but as Ledroptha correctly guessed, I cannot and will not let them come to more harm' he said gravely. 'Please do not argue with me on this' he added firmly, noticing the defiant expressions on both the girl's faces.

'Now Constance, I believe you wanted to know what leads the agents have?'

She nodded, looking down at her feet.

'Using CCTV from traffic cameras, they know that the Ten Men escaped with our friends in what is, by all extents, a van.'

'A van?' spluttered Constance increduously.

'By all extents?' queried Reynie.

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose in Reynie's direction.

'Yes, by all extents it looks like an ordinary, black delivery van. However they believe it is fitted with the noise cancelling technology that the Salamander had. Also experts have analysed the images from the cameras and believe that the van is at least double steel plated and the windscreen made of reinforced glass making it-'

'Bulletproof!' interjected Sticky, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt' he muttered embarrassed.

'Not at all Sticky, you are exactly right. This bulletproofing also means that it is impossible for anyone to get in or out of the van by force so-'

'No escaping' mumbled Kate sounding uncharacteristically dispondant. Mr Benedict nodded in agreement, peering over his glasses at her, concerned.

'What else have they found?' asked Sticky, failing to notice Mr. Benedict's preoccupation with Kate.

'They traced the van through the traffic cameras through to Stonetown Harboour but there there are fewer cameras, so' Mr. Benedict brushed a hand through his white hair wearily, 'the investigation has slowed.'

A pause followed this statement, during which Reynie frowned, Constance crossed her arms huffily and Kate began to bounce up and down again with nervous energy, clenching and unclenching her fists. The silence was broken by Sticky, who coughed nervously and fidgeted with his hands before voicing what was preoccupying him.

'Mr Benedict? Um do you have any idea what Mr Curtain wants?'

'I have no idea what my brother's intentions may be, yet I can ascertain that whatever they are, they will be most undesirable' answered Mr Benedict with a sigh which did little to ease anyone's worry.

'What are we going to do?' ventured Kate after a short silence and when no one answered straight away, 'Come on, Reynie? Mr Benedict?'

'Kate, if we have no means of tracing them then-'

'I'm not waiting for something to happen!' Kate cried, looking at Reynie in disbelief.

'You won't have to' said Miss Perumal grimly as she opened the study door. 'Sorry to interrupt Mr Benedict, but Milligan's laptop just received an email, with a video attached.'


	3. Consequences and Accurate Speculations

**Third chapter! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, you've really helped my confidence with it! I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you all for reading! :)**

Once they had all rushed downstairs and crowded around the laptop, Kate reached over Constance's head and pressed play. The whole room held it's breath as an image of a bare room painted yellow filled the screen. Then Mr Curtain slowly walked onto the screen dressed in his green plaid suit, his silver sunglasses reflecting the filming camera.

'As you will now be very much aware Benedict, I have three of your best, most highly trained agents under my control. Now what I want you to do is simple enough for a man of your intellectual prowess, I want you to watch what will happen if you do not do as I say.'

A collective shudder passed round the dining room.

'You see Benedict, I have some very carefully laid plans that will result in me controlling Stonetown and all of its assets. These plans will not be interrupted' Mr Curtain finished sternly before nodding at someone off camera.

A few seconds later, distant yells and clunks became louder. Suddenly a bedraggled man was dragged into view by three Ten Men; McCracken, Sharpe and Crawlings.

'Milligan!' gasped Kate, clapping a hand to her mouth in shock for Milligan looked absolutely awful. His face was puffy and covered in a purple bruise on the left and his right eye was black and barely open. A large cut spanned his forehead and his arms were handcuffed tightly behind his back. Despite her father's appearance, Kate looked on with great satisfaction that all three of the Ten Men looked very bedraggled themselves; they were panting from dragging Milligan into the room and Crawlings had a large gash under his eye.

'As you can see, your agent put up a very strong fight yet an ultimately pointless one. Still, he cost us precious time. Now McCracken will demonstrate what will happen if you disobey me Benedict and next time, it will be one of your precious daughters who will pay the price.'

Mr Curtain stepped back, allowing Milligan and his tormentors to fully occupy the camera.

'I will enjoy this most immensely' said McCracken to Milligan with a gleeful grin as Sharpe and Crawlings held their captive. Milligan stared back with what little eye he could see with and spat onto McCracken's polished shoes. The Ten Man's smile faltered and suddenly he whipped out what looked like a small silver pen.

'No!' Kate cried putting her hand out as if to grab McCracken's laser pointer from him through the screen. Moocho tried to put his arm on her shoulders but she shrugged it off, too upset.

'Let's see' grinned McCracken aiming the laser point at Milligan's temple. Milligan froze.

'That's better behaviour' laughed Sharpe who tugged Milligan's arm painfully.

'It is indeed, but I think a laser to the head would be too quick' said McCracken playfully. 'I think, here' he aimed just below Milligan's right knee, 'would be much more worthwhile, don't you agree Milligan?'

'I should take his silence as a 'yes' McCracken' smirked Crawlings.

'Oh I will Crawlings, I just want him to remember that his beloved daughter will see this' grinned McCracken, and wthout another word, he shot the laser.

Milligan yelled and collapsed to the ground in agony. Kate screamed, tears flowing freely down her face. The room filled with horrified gasps and yells of shock and distress. Sticky collapsed into a nearby chair, shaking, Constance and Reynie turned a grey and Mr. Benedict with tears in his eyes, jumped up from his chair. Mr Curtain stepped back into the frame behind Milligan, smirking as he writhed on the ground, his teeth gritted from the unbearable pain.

'You understand the consequences Benedict' he said curtly, 'now, in just an hour from now the city will be asleep and when that happens, you will use your unlimited access to turn the tidal turbines off. You'll recieve further instructions once you have done so. Warn anyone, and you will most sincerely regret it.'

'Failure to comply with these simple instructions will results in this', he gestured to Milligan who was lying groaning on the floor, 'and or worse to him and your daughters.' With that, the screen went blank.

The Mysterious Benedict Society were having a meeting in Constance's room on the roasting third floor. The meeting consisted of Reynie and Sticky sitting on the floor and occasionally bouncing ideas between themselves, trying to figure out why on earth Mr Curtain would want to turn the turbines off, Constance sitting uncharacteristically silent on her untidy bed with her eyes tightly closed and Kate staring out of the window, drumming her fingers on the windowsill, now and then wiping angry tears from her eyes.

The eldest member of the society had spent the last fifteen minutes trying desperately to calm herself down, but everytime she started to get even remotely back to her usual self, the sickening image of Milligan writhing on the floor in agony brought back the surges of fury and she had to start all over again. Her fury was also mixed with a nauseating sense of dread that clawed its way up her throat. Milligan was in terrible, terrible danger and right now Mr Benedict was on his way to the Turbine Centre where he would be forced to turn the turbines off.

Before he had left, Mr Benedict had dug out some old respirator masks and passed one to everyone. Mr Curtain's threat that 'the city will be asleep' had forced them to conclude that someway, somehow, he was going to spread the sleep gas across the whole city.

'But that's impossible!' Constance had cried. 'How can he expect everyone to be affected all at the same time?'

'My guess, and this is only a guess mind you, is that he'll also filter the 'sleep mist' into the water supply. Everyone needs to drink, whether it be tea, coffee, squash or plain old water. Combine this with the sleep mist in the air then I'd imagine nearly everyone will be affected' said Mr Benedict grimly.

Kate had argued with Mr Benedict that she should go with him, but seeing as she was still distraught about what she had just witnessed and in no fit state to pretend otherwise, she had agreed to stay while Moocho, Ms Plugg and Jameson went with Mr Benedict.

She was regretting that desicion now. Standing here, waiting for the cloud of sleep gas to come over while Mr Benedict complied with Mr Curtain and while Milligan was being tortured by McCracken was almost unbearable.

McCracken.

Kate stopped drumming the windowsill and clenched her fists, vowing to herself that whatever happened, she would make McCracken pay for what he did to her father.

The sudden silence in the room startled the boys out of their thoughts and they both turned to look up at Kate.

'Are you okay Kate?' asked Sticky.

'Oh I'm absolutely splendid Sticky thank you' replied Kate sarcastically but with a small smile on her face as she turned to face them.

'Milligan will be fine Kate' said Reynie, 'he knows how to look after himself.'

'I know, it's just seeing what McCracken did-' Kate stopped herself and clenched her fists again and turned back to face the window.

'Listen' said Reynie trying to distract Kate for a moment, 'the only reason I can think of for Mr Curtain wanting the tidal turbines to be turned off is so that he can then redirect the power somewhere else.'

'To power something?' asked Sticky. Reynie nodded. Sticky glupped.

'But to power what?' Kate cried, 'the Whisperer's gone, what else is there?'

The boys shrugged their shoulders.

'What do you think Constance?' said Reynie who was disconcerted that she hadn't moved, let alone said anything.

'Hey Constance, what do you think?' repeated Sticky when she didn't reply. Constance whipped up her hand to stop them from asking her more questions and remained silent with her eyes tightly closed. Reynie, Sticky and Kate stared at her in disbelief until twenty seconds later, the young girl lowered her hand and opened her eyes.

'What was that all about?' demanded Kate.

'I was finding out where Milligan is' replied Constance coolly.

'I'm sorry? You were-'

'Finding out where Milligan is yes' interrupted Constance, 'and Rhonda and Number Two' she added.

'Using your mind thing?' asked Sticky wide-eyed.

'No, actually I phoned them.. Of course with my 'mind thing' George!' said Constance sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Sticky bristled, he hated it when people used his real name.

'I kept repeating over and over 'where?', picturing Rhonda with that ridiculous green wig on which she wore years ago remember?'

The others nodded hastily, extremely keen for Constance to continue.

'Anyway, eventually I must have broken into her thoughts because then she pictured this weird image of a man who had been crossed out with a big 'X' standing in a circle. It took me a while but I eventually got it.' Constance stopped talking and grinned up at them.

'Come on Constance, tell us!' exclaimed Kate, unable to wait any longer.

'You're going to love this' the little girl answered. 'They're on Nomansan Island.'


	4. Obstacles

**Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing this story, it's really great to know what you think of it! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

'Reynie, seriously, get out of the way!'

'No, you're not going anywhere until we've thought this through at least a bit!'

'What's there to think through?! They're at the Institute and we need to get there quickly!'

Reynie was standing infront of the bedroom door with his arms folded. Kate meanwhile, was trying desperately to talk Reynie into letting her go straight to the island but he was being stubborn. They all knew that Kate could easily push Reynie out the way, but fortunately for him, she wasn't one for attacking her friends.

'Look Kate, Reynie's not saying you can't go, just wait five minutes so we can figure out a plan' Sticky pitched in.

Kate sighed.

'You're right, I'm sorry' she said looking down at her feet.

'Hey it's okay, we all want to see them safe' said Reynie smiling.

'Right, now that you've finally got your head back Kate, we can start' said Constance, 'and we'd better think of something quickly, look!'

They all gathered at the window and gazed down in horror, for a thick mist was rolling quickly down the street. Suddenly, all the lights went out, plunging them into a darkness so deep that they couldn't see a thing.

'Mr Benedict's turned off the turbines!' whispered Sticky who was desperately trying to stop the rising sense of panic he was experiencing. The sudden darkness had closed around them rather claustrophobically.

'We haven't got much time!' Kate whispered hoarsely, as the sound of the Perumals and Washingtons shock at the sudden darkness had floated upstairs.

'Are we seriously going to go without telling anyone? Again?' breathed Sticky somewhat angrily.

'What choice do we have?' shot back Kate, turning on her flashlight, causing them all to squint at the sudden, harsh brightness. 'They'll try to stop us if we tell them!'

'Lets write them a note' said Reynie quickly, noting Kate's and Sticky's angry expressions. They both mumbled in agreement. Constance ripped out a blank page of one of her poetry books and began hastily scribbling down their plan and their apologies.

'Okay, so just to clarify, we're going back to the institute, in the dark, in streets filled with sleep gas to rescue our friends despite not knowing whereabouts within the _massive_ institute they are?' Sticky asked in mild disbelief once they were all down the hidden laundry chute that Kate had found so many years before.

'Yes!' replied Kate, who was feeling a lot more cheerful now that they were about to embark on a dangerous mission.

'And don't forget about the Ten Men prowling about in the dark' added Constance most unhelpfully. Sticky groaned.

They crept past the dining room where they could hear the muffled, worried voices of the Perumals and Washingtons. Reynie, upon hearing Miss Perumal's voice, felt terribly guilty for what he was about to do and the subsequent worry they'd be putting them all through, and for a second, he wanted to barge through the dining room door to explain. But as Constance had rightly said to him earlier, telling his family would result in them forcing him to stay or worse, coming along with him. Neither option was viable, so Reynie crept along after the others with a heavy heart.

'Masks on' Kate whispered as they reached the front door. Dutifully, they all pulled the respirator masks over their faces and stood for a second looking at each other in amusement.

'Massive improvement' Constance whispered to Kate who in response ruffled the little girl's hair.

'Keep quiet Connie-girl I need to concentrate' murmured Kate as she silently opened her bucket lid and drew out two thin pieces of metal. Quickly, she started working the lock picks in the keyhole (all the windows were wired and the doors locked) and a second later, they all heard the lock click. Kate slowly pushed to door open a fraction, silently ushering the others out. They ran out to the gate and waited in the misty street as Kate re-locked the door from the outside.

'Excellent!' said Kate rubbing her hands together excitedly, 'now we just need to make our way to the Harbour!'

The others nodded nervously, looking around the street so often it looked like they all had severe twitches. With the sounds of their breathing amplified in the masks and no sign of people, it was very eerie. This wasn't helped by standing in the dark and the thick mist, through which they could only see a few feet in front of them even with Kate's flashlight.

Grouped together, they made their way down street after street, passing an occasional person asleep on the ground or an unmoving car, its owner asleep at the wheel. Ten minutes later they turned onto the main road where they were met by the most bizzare sight.

The road was filled with haphazardly stopped cars, engines still running and lights on but their drivers slumped in their seats, fast asleep.

'This is so-' Kate began.

'Creepy' Reynie finished.

They made much better progress down the main street as all the car lights had been left on, easily illuminating the whole road. Sticky was thinking just how grateful he was for his respirator mask due to all the sleep gas and exhaust fumes in the air when he noticed the empty cab of a lorry. This struck him as odd, seeing as everyone else in the area hadn't even been able to get out of their cars before they fell asleep, but then he peered into the open lorry back and instantly knew why. Inside the lorry was what looked like a giant inflator pump that would normally be used for inflating bouncy castles, except this one was pumping out thin streams of sleep gas.

'They must have driven lorries like these all over the city to evenly distribute the gas' he explained to the others who had come over to look. They all looked up at the giant, intimidating machine, pondering the scale of Mr Curtain's plan and scared about its sophistication.

'You know what?' said Kate after a moment, 'it's going to take us forever to get to the Harbour at the rate we're going.'

'Actually it'll take us two hours and forty nine minutes' corrected Sticky promptly before looking embarassed.

'Exactly, and after we get there we have to get across to the island, that's too long!' Kate cried.

Reynie narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

'What are you trying to say Kate?' he asked.

'That we _steal_ the lorry?!' spluttered Constance in disbelief. Kate looked very sheepish.

'It's not that I want to!' she cried wringing her hands and looking at her friends' dumbstruck faces,'it'll just be more efficient!'

'Can, can you drive it?' asked Reynie although he already knew the answer.

'Of course!' Kate replied enthusiastically, already climbing up into the lorry cab, hauling a disgruntled Constance along with her.

Sticky and Reynie glanced nervously at each other before taking deep breaths and following the girls into the lorry. The first thing Reynie noticed when he got in the cab was that Constance was vigorously shaking her arm to get some sensation back into it, the second was that Kate had disappeared.

'Where's Ka-'

'I'm down here' came a muffled voice and Reynie looked under the steering wheel to see Kate with her penlight between her teeth, twisting pliers and her penknife screwdriver around violently.

'They took the keys' she explained.

'Not only are we stealing a lorry, we're _hotwiring_ a lorry so we can steal it' sighed Constance wearily, rolling her eyes at the boys, 'that's doubly illegal Kate you know?'

'Don't be silly Connie-girl, and anyway, it's not like this belongs to people who like to abide by the law is it?' she asked, somewhat anxiously, seeking reassurance.

'Precisely, I'd say after all the Ten Men and Mr Curtain have ever done to us, we deserve to use this lorry' said Reynie as he squeezed in between Constance and Sticky. From up in the lorry cab, they could see a lot more clearly down the unevenly illuminated street. Cars were stopped so crookedly as far as he could see that Reynie thought it would be a miracle if Kate managed to drive through it all without damaging anything.

Suddenly, the engine roared into life making everyone jump in their seats. Sticky hit his head on the ceiling. Kate emerged from under the steering wheel looking exceptionally pleased with herself and re-tying her hair positioned herself in the driver's seat next to Constance. Slowly, she pushed down the clutch and with a hard tug of the gearstick shoved it into first.

'Ready?' she said, glancing at her friends. Sticky had a hand covering his eyes and Constance was tightly gripping Reynie's wrist. Reynie, who had his fingers crossed, nodded and Kate released the handbreak and pressed the accelerator. The engine noise swelled and they rolled slowly forward. Barely ten feet later, there was a terrible high-pitched screeching noise and the lorry tugged sharply to the left, throwing it's passengers sideways with a jerk.

'What was that?' croaked Sticky, sweating, as they disentangled themselves from each other.

'I think the lorry back's caught on something' said Reynie before asking Sticky, 'do you know how to release it?'

'Um, let me have a look' he replied, leaning across to look at the dashboard. Sticky, who was fairly familiar with this model of lorry looked for a small leaver that would release the couplings attaching the lorry back.

'Aha, I think that's it' he said pointing to a small red leaver near the cigarette lighter. Constance who was nearest gently pulled the leaver down. There was a small clunking sound and Sticky nodded at Kate to start going forward again. An ominous scraping reverberated round the cab until suddenly the cab shot forward and there was a huge crash as the lorry back fell to the ground. For a few seconds, Kate had to steer wildly to avoid hitting any cars and their sleeping owners, during which they were all thrown around as if they were in a plane corkscrewing to earth until Kate managed to regain control.

As their panicked, gasping breaths' slowed and they fell into the rhythm of weaving in and out of hundreds of obstacles, the Mysterious Benedict Society began to relax for the first time all day. Constance drifted off onto Reynie's upper arm while the rest sat in comfortable silence, each lost in their thoughts. The boys thought of their families, who were no doubt very aware of their absence by now. Sticky shivered as he imagined his parents horrified reactions when they realised he was missing and Reynie cringed inwardly at the amount of anxiety he was inflicting upon his mother and grandmother. Kate meanwhile, was trying to construct an elaborate plan to rescue her father and her friends that involved lots of severely injured and humiliated Ten Men. But every now and then, the depressing thought of what would happen if they failed burrowed it's way into her consciousness until it was banished again but never as far away as before, leaving Kate with a dim yet permanant ache of anxiety in her heart.

After half an hour swerving around vehicle after vehicle, they finally arrived at Stonetown Harbour where Kate stopped the lorry with a hiss. Through the empty, silent docks, they could see the Institute on the island, ablaze with light.

'Don't know where the power's all going' said Constance sarcastically as they all jumped down from the lorry cab.

'I don't think they've redirected all the power over there Constance' said Sticky, 'at least not for the moment.'

'I know, I was being _sarcastic_ ' said Constance, exasperated. Sticky opened his mouth to tell Constance that he did in fact know she was being sarcastic but Reynie interjected quickly, trying to avoid an argument

'Come on we still need to get to the island, anyone have any ideas?' he asked around.

'I don't suppose the causeway isn't being guarded?' asked Sticky hopefully.

'Sorry, Sticky' answered Kate who had whipped out her spyglass and was observing the illuminated causeway, 'there are guards dotted all along it.' Sticky looked incredibly disappointed.

'By boat it is then!' exclaimed Constance who had already walked through the entrance to the docks.

They made their way through the chaos that was the docks. Every couple of feet they came across a sleeping night worker and mountains of out of use boats were stacked here and there. Twice Reynie tripped over tangled ropes and Sticky would have fallen into a dry dock had Kate not caught him in time. Thankfully, they all made it to the edge of the docks in one piece and they began looking for a suitable boat, extremely aware of the causeway that seemed to be looming over them, half a mile to their left.

'This one looks good' said Constance, pointing to a grubby old rib that would normally be used for fishing on rivers.

'Well, it'll move quickly' said Sticky looking at it skeptically.

'The rest are too bulky to get through the rocks' said Reynie as Kate tugged its mooring rope, dragging it next to the dock edge.

'Oh my, I hadn't thought about the rocks' Sticky blanched.

'Don't worry about that! Only the last hundred metres have any rocks in them.' said Kate, who had already jumped down into the boat and was now helping Constance who was wobbling about as the rib banged against the dock.

'How can I not worry about it?' mumbled Sticky as he stepped unsteadily after Reynie into the rib.

Once everyone was sitting somewhat safely (Constance on the floor at the front and Reynie and Sticky perched on the inflatable edges, their legs hunched, pressed against each other's), Kate tugged the engine starter cord. She had to do this several times, each tug more energetic than the last, until finally, the engine spluttered into life. Very noisy life. They all glanced nervously towards the causeway but luckily, due to the wind and distance, it seemed that no one had heard anything. Reynie untied the mooring ropes and soon, they were floating away from the misty mainland into the dark sea.

The wind buffeted them so hard that Kate had to use both her arms on the rudder to keep them going in a straight line, while they all gazed into the choppy water ahead of them, only able to see a few feet ahead with the dim moonlight. They didn't dare risk turning on the flashlight incase someone on the causeway spotted it, but on the upside, they could at least take off their masks now that they were out of the sleep mist.

Much more quickly than any of them (apart from Sticky who had done the calculations out of habit) had anticipated, they arrived at the edge of the perilous rocks that surrounded the island. Kate slowed the rib and they began to inch forward. Despite having been frozen by the wind and spray of the open sea, Reynie and Sticky were now feeling uncomfortably hot as they scoured their path infront of them for any submerged rocks. More than once, Constance who was leaning over the front had yelled at Kate to stop due to submerged spikes and they had only narrowly avoided being sunk. After several tense minutes and sharp changes in direction, they had only navigated fifty metres.

'I'll never undertand how Milligan learnt a way through this' muttered Kate who was feeling unusually tense.

'Me neither' said Constance, 'and I'm pretty decent at recognising patterns.'

'Well these rocks are more random than in any specific trend, it's all to do with erosion from the water and wi-' Sticky started to explain but before he could finish, there was a terrible ripping sound and a huge gash appeared diagonally in the bottom of the rib.

'Oh no oh no!' they all cried as the inky black water rushed in as the floor of the rib gave way. Reynie grabbed hold of Constance before she could fall in and they all balanced precariously on the inflated edges, rather like they were sitting on a large pentagonal doughnut. Kate, who was crouched next to the engine tried desperately to steer away from a large rock they were being forced towards, but due to the damage they had sustained and the weight of Constance, Reynie and Kate all on the right side of the boat, there was nothing she could do. The right side of the boat punctured with a loud hiss, throwing Reynie and Constance out into the freezing, black water. Kate, who had only managed to stay on board because her bucket had become caught on the engine, started yelling at Sticky.

'Sticky! You have to jump out now!' she yelled trying desperately to pull her bucket from the engine.

'Now Sticky!' she screamed again, looking at his petrified face, 'make sure you both get Constance to shore' she added more calmly when she released he was debating whether to go or stay and help her.

'What about you?' he gasped as the boat tipped further, so Kate was half in the water and Sticky was sitting high up on the other side that was slowly deflating.

'I'll be fine' Kate replied waving at him breezily, 'just make sure the others are okay.'

Sticky nodded, gulped and threw himself into the dark water after Reynie and Constance who were clinging to a rock a ten metres away. Kate sighed with relief as she watched Sticky join the others and together they began to swim to shore, occasionally helping each other along when one of them grew too tired. Suddenly, the boat gave an ominous creak, completely capsized and began to sink.

Kate felt herself being pulled under water as she grappled furiously with her bucket clip to try and release it from her. At that moment a huge slab of the shredded inflatable rubber fell onto her torso and wrapped around her, stopping her arms from moving. Kate screamed internally. Drowning in freezing, dark water while tangled upside down with a sinking boat was not how she wanted to go. Yet as she struggled against the heavy rubber while simultaneously trying to tug herself free of the engine, Kate felt her body tiring. Her lungs burned and her body went numb as her vision began to flicker.


	5. Verge

**Here's the next chapter, so sorry for not updating sooner and sorry it's a bit shorter than normal but I had a car accident a few weeks ago (no excuse I know :P) so this story hadn't been at the forefront of my mind, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will update soon :)**

Reynie, who had been in plenty of very terrifying situations, had never been so terrified in his life. He, Sticky and Constance were shivering uncontrollably while floundering in the shallows, desperately searching the area for any sign of Kate. It had been ten minutes since they'd reached the shore and ten minutes since they'd seen the boat sink beneath the inky waves.

'She's got to be here!' cried Constance while splashing the water in dispair and staring up at the moon.

'I'm sure she'll- I'm sure Kate will-' started Reynie but he couldn't find any words to bring comfort to the young girl or to himself. Never before had Kate been late or kept her friends waiting, what if the unthinkable had happened? Reynie firmly shook his head and continued to scan the water and the rocks for any sign of their missing friend, banishing the dark thoughts from his head.

'Reynie, Constance' muttered Sticky in a strangled tone, 'I-I see something.'

Their gaze followed to where Sticky was pointing and their hearts seemed to leap into their throats. In the dim moonlight, they could see a dark, indefinable lump washed up about two hundred metres down the beach from where they stood. They looked at each other, fear on their faces, before splashing down the shore. Constance was reassuring herself that the lump could easily just be a log or a piece of the boat as she ran after the boys, occasionally tripping and faceplanting the ocean. As she emerged from the shallows for the fourth time, she saw that the boys had nearly reached the lump, which suddenly rolled over. Constance's gasp caused her to inhale a large amount of sea water and so she stumbled over to the boys who were kneeled beside the lump, her eyes streaming as she coughed and spluttered.

'Looking good Connie-girl' rasped a very weak voice.

'I look a million times better than you' retorted Constance as angrily as she could while simulatneously trying not to cry from relief.

Kate shrugged in agreement before dissolving into a fit of extreme, hacking coughs. She was lying curled up on the wet sand, her hair plastered all over her face as she shivered and coughed uncontrollably. The others winced as after each cough, Kate spat out sea water, until finally she lay spreadeagled on the sand, taking deep rasping breaths of air.

'What happened, Kate?' asked Reynie gently as he patted her on the shoulder.

Kate opened her mouth to speak but instead started to retch up more sea water.

'What do we do?' Sticky whispered to Reynie as they both looked at Kate with concern as she groaned and clutched her head and chest.

'I honestly don't know' Reynie whispered back, 'she's in no fit state to do anything at the moment-'

'If anything, she should be in a hospital, she'll have loads of water in her lungs-'

'What are you two whispering about?' demanded Constance.

'We're, we're wondering what we do now?' said Reynie openly.

'We-rescue-our-friends' spluttered Kate who had heaved herself up into a sitting position.

'Kate, we're all on the verge of getting hypothermia, you're half-drowned-'

'I know, but who-else is there- to help?' she croaked looking at Reynie defiantly.

'I'm with Kate' said Constance, crossing her arms and glaring down at the boys, as if daring them to argue with her. Reynie glanced at Sticky who grimaced and stood up.

'Right then' he said, swinging his arms, 'we need to get off the beach and make a plan, do you need a hand Kate?'

Reynie and Sticky hauled Kate to her feet where she stood hunched over, swaying and clutching her head. Slowly, with Constance in the lead and the boys half-dragging Kate, they followed the younger girl away from the causeway and around a stack to where a set of stone steps were carved into the rock next to a cave.

'How did you know they were here?' asked Sticky almost disbelievingly, nodding towards the steps. Constance just shrugged.

'Can-can we just wait here for a bit?' Kate wheezed as she plodded over to sit in the cave entrance. Since it was unheard of for Kate to ask to wait for anything, the others promptly nodded in agreement, exchanging worried glances.

'It's warm here' Kate added as she leaned her head against her knees and closed her eyes.

'Warm? No Kate that's just you, you're really not well' said Sticky worriedly.

'Warm' Kate mumbled.

'Listen' said Reynie sitting next to Kate, 'I suggest we recuperate here for a bit and then- hey, it is warm here!' he said in surprise.

'What?!' exclaimed Constance coming over to stand next to Reynie. 'Wow! Come here Sticky, it's like standing in a slow hair dryer!' she said thoughtfully.

'It must be some sort of ventilation for something, like where heat from a machine is taken away' said Sticky wonderingly.

'What kind of machine though?' said Reynie darkly. No one answered for as the soft, warm breeze blew over them, the Mysterious Benedict Society felt themselves begin to dry and thaw out as they sat next to each other in the cave entrance, trying to process everything that had happened. It'd only been two hours since they'd stolen the lorry (Reynie's watch was still working despite its dunk in the sea) and since then, they'd nearly lost Kate. Reynie looked at the still shivering girl hunched up next to him and felt a strong surge of emotions coarse through him. The thought of what so nearly happened overwhelmed him and with tears in his eyes he realised, that if anything truely terrible happened to his friends, he would never forgive himself. They were the first family he ever really had and to have to live without any of them would be unbearable.

'What happened in the boat, Kate?' asked Constance, who had sensed Reynie's mood and was trying to distract him from his depressing thoughts. Reynie smiled at Constance gratefully.

Kate heaved her head up from her knees, looked at the others with bleary eyes and began to explain her escape between laboured breaths. After the rubber had wrapped around her and she realised she couldn't move her arms, Kate had managed to manoeuvre her body so that she could stretch her fingers into her bucket and grab her penknife. She had started to cut away at the rubber but then the engine hit a rock near the seabed (the sea was only twenty feet deep there), jolting the bucket free. By this point she had been underwater for nearly three minutes and the jolt and surprise at suddenly being free caused her to accidently release her breath (her burning lungs wouldn't have allowed her to hold it much longer anyway). Despite the initial relief of exhaling, Kate had found herself ten feet from the surface in desperate need for air. Being barely conscious and quite delirious by this point, she had tried to take a breath.

'Somehow I floated up to the surface, but I still couldn't breath so I just lay there, floating on the surface staring at the moon. I must've passed out because the next thing I know, I'm rolling over on the sand and I can see several pairs of blurry feet running at me' Kate finished, clutching her pounding head.

'We were really worried and, I'm glad you're alright, you know?' said Constance in a small voice. Kate stared at her in shock before pulling Constance into a one-armed hug.

'Thank you Constance' she whispered, touched by the younger girl's rare outburst of emotional honesty.

The few minutes silence that followed was broken by Constance complaining that Kate appeared to have fallen asleep on her shoulder.

'Give her a break Constance' said Reynie wearily, 'She nearly drowned, she's jetlagged, she watched Milligan get hurt-'

'Okay, okay' muttered Constance who was herself, extremely tired. Slowly, unintentionally and much despite the urgency of their situation, the others found themselves drifting off and as much as they tried to fight their drooping eyelids, they couldn't help it. The exhaustion of the day and night had finally caught up with them all and one by one, they fell asleep on the sand.


	6. Old Friends, New Enemies

The murmur of distant voices slowly worked their way down through Kate's semi-conscious brain. Groaning, she rolled over on the sand and slowly opened her eyes. It was still dark, although a faint tinge of pink was spreading across the sky. Despite having never felt so physically bad in her life before (even missing the landing net once when she was a human cannonball in the circus hadn't been this bad), Kate heaved herself up and found herself looking at the curled up silhouettes of her three sleeping friends. Smiling to herself she stood up and stretched before freezing in a sudden wave a panic. If her friends were sleeping then whose voices had she heard?

Kate strained her ears and once again the sound of two voices coming from inside the cave floated towards her, getting more distinct every second. Instantly, Kate had picked up the sleeping Constance and was gently kicking Reynie and Sticky awake. Constance, who had been rudely awoken by being flung over Kate's back was about to shout a complaint when the older girl clapped a hand over her mouth.

'Sssh, someone's coming this way' whispered Kate, urgently pointing into the cave. Immediately the boys (who had both been less than impressed with Kate's method of waking them up) sprang up, eyes wide.

'Where do we go?' mouthed Sticky, suddenly terrified at the prospect of being captured. Kate gestured for them to follow her and they sprinted out of the cave entrance and up the stone steps by the side of the cave. Just as they reached the top of the steps and the cliff, they heard a loud voice, very close by. The Mysterious Benedict Society froze and not even daring to turn around, listened to the two voices.

'Blimey, it's nice to get some fresh air at last, I've been in that room for seven hours, _seven hours_ preparing that stupid machine-' complained a woman with an English accent.

'Quiet, you don't want him to hear you talking like that' interjected a male voice nervously. The faint smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air.

'He's not out here is he, he's with those stupid prisoners of his.'

'What do you suppose he'll do with them?'

'The prisoners? I don't know, dispose of them would be the _sensible_ thing to do but I doubt Mr Curtain would do that, at least not him _personally_ ' said the woman with a sharp, mocking laugh. 'I expect I'll be given that honour' she added, sounding gleeful.

'How, how can you speak like that?' asked the man sounding repulsed.

'You forget that I used to do that sort of, er, business for a living before-'

'Before the British government arrested you, you escaped and fled over here' sighed the man wearily, clearly he'd heard the story many times.

'Exactly. Anyhow, we should be getting back, Mr Curtain is coming down for one more check before we move forward...'

The voices quickly faded as the man and woman walked back into the cave and the Mysterious Benedict Society collectively released a breath.

'Look, you can see their footprints! If they'dve looked up we would have been seen!' said Constance, her eyes popping slightly as she looked over the cliff.

'Well lets focus on the fact that they didn't!' said Kate brightly, 'what's wrong with you two?' she then asked the boys who were both white as a sheet.

'That woman' started Reynie running a hand through his hair, 'she's, she's an _assassin!'_

'An assassin' echoed Sticky who was shaking while polishing his glasses.

'Well clearly she's not a very good one, she got caught!' said Kate.

'But then she escaped, from the British government. She escaped from a government Kate, not many people can get away with that!' cried Constance. Kate casually waved her hand.

Reynie, after a few moments composed himself.

'Lets forget about her for the time being' he said shaking his head as if to banish the thoughts of the dangerous woman from his mind, 'You heard what they were saying, 'Mr Curtain is coming down for one more check', that means he'll be well away from Milligan, Rhonda and Number Two.'

'So all we've got to do is find where they're being held!' said Sticky sounding optimistic.

'Brilliant!' cried Kate rubbing her hands together, feeling better for having a plan in formation.

'Yeah that shouldn't be too hard, we've only got the whole of the institute search' cut in Constance scathingly. The others frowned at her.

'Do you reckon they're in The Waiting Room?' asked Kate. Sticky recoiled.

'No, no I don't think so. Mr Curtain knows that Milligan could escape from there' replied Reynie. They fell into silence as each began the unpleasant task of imagining being Mr Curtain and subsequently, where as Mr Curtain they would hold their prisoners.

'The flag tower!' cried Constance and Sticky in unison after a few moments. They both looked at each other in excitement.

'Of course!' cried Reynie slapping his forehead.

'It's where the Whisperer was kept-' started Constance.

'So it's probably the most secure place!' finished Sticky.

Following Kate, they ran as silently as possible through the dark, crouching behind overgrown shrubs for a few seconds to catch their breath before moving off. Several times Kate nearly fell into the old mine shafts but fortunately jumped at the last second, causing the others who followed closely behind her to quickly scatter around the almost invisible hole. Since no one had inhabited the island for nearly eight years, the grass had grown long and lank, ivy hung off the buildings in great clumps and all the paved concrete had been split by plants and their roots. Had they not been in such a hurry and not so pumped full of adrenaline, they all would have found the shadowed, overgrown buildings much more intimidating than they did as they ran past.

Kate led them to the back of the flag tower without them encountering a single person, which they all thought to be slightly suspicious but since they had no other plan, they continued.

'How do you propose we get up there then?' demanded a panting Constance who was staring up at the window twenty or so feet above them.

'First, I think we should check that they're actually in there,' said Reynie, looking down at Constance expectantly.

'What?' she said confused by Reynie's expression. 'Wait by 'we' do you mean 'me'?' Constance asked wearily, heaving a dramatic sigh. Reynie smiled and nodded. Constance rolled her eyes.

'While you're using your telepathy, I'll go and get something to make a rope seeing as I lost my whole bucket' said Kate sadly, but she still bounced off into the darkness before any of the others could object.

Reynie and Sticky stood nervously back-to-back as they kept watch while Constance stood silently with her hands pressed to her head.

' _They're here!_ ' whispered Constance creepily after a few minutes silence making the boys jump. Constance laughed.

'Now is not the time for scaring us!' cried Sticky who was now extremely tense. Before Constance could retort, Kate came rushing out of the darkness, her arms loaded with what looked like intestines.

'What on earth?' said Constance, taking several steps away from Kate.

'They're the vines that cover the mine shafts!' Sticky laughed at Constance who scowled.

'Come on help me tie them together! My hands are raw from ripping them out the ground!' said Kate who dumped the vines on the ground and massaged her muddy, bloody hands. As quickly as they could in the dim early morning light, they untangled the vines and knotted them together until they had a rope nearly fifty feet long.

Kate gingerly picked up the vine rope, tied a rock to one end and stepped back, gazing up at the flagpole. The others were silent, not daring to disturb her concentration as she began to swing the rock round and round, carefully calculating before she threw it loose. The rock and the attached rope sailed up, up past the window and curled perfectly round the flagpole before making its descent back to earth.

Kate grinned as the rock hit the ground. 'Who wants to go first?' she said.

'No way, remember the last time I _flew,_ literally flew up there, Kate hmm?' said Constance accusingly yet there was a hint of a smile on her face.

'I'll go first' said Sticky, stepping forward. Kate tied one end of the rope around Sticky's waist and he braced his feet against the tower wall. Reynie and Kate heaved on the other half of the rope and Sticky was suddenly hauled several feet upwards.

'You're the tallest and lightest person I know!' laughed Kate as Sticky massaged his stomach. Pretty soon, Sticky was level with the window, he paused and then knocked on the pane of glass.

'What are you doing?' hissed Kate and Constance twenty feet below, 'just kick it in!'

'Right' mumbled Sticky as he swung himself into position before pushing off from the tower, swinging and smashing his feet into the window. The wood and glass fractured and shattered and Sticky suddenly found himself in a dark yet unfortunately familiar room.

'S-sticky?' groaned a weak, rough voice. Number Two.

'Number Two! Rhonda! Milligan!' exclaimed Sticky as his eyes adjusted to the dark and the uneven shapes of three people appeared in the gloom.

'Quiet! There are Ten Men guarding outside the door!' whispered Rhonda hoarsely as she struggled to sit up. As far as Sticky could see, Rhonda and Number Two were unharmed, just tired from trying all day and night to escape the handcuffs around their wrists and ankles. Milligan, however was slumped unconscious on the floor, breathing heavily with a bloody makeshift bandage tied around his knee. Sticky untied the rope from his waist and chucked it out the window as he knealt beside Milligan and re-tied the bandage tighter around the battered man's knee.

'Are you two okay?' he asked Rhonda and Number Two as Reynie appeared at the window. They both nodded.

'Is Mr Benedict okay?' they both asked simultaneously.

As Sticky helped Reynie in through the window and both the boys attempted to release the handcuffs, they explained everything that had happened; how Mr Benedict had been forced to turn off the turbines, how they travelled to the Institute, how they thought that Mr Curtain's plan involved another terrifying machine and how he had employed an assassin.

Meanwhile back down on the ground, Kate was mid-way through heaving Constance up the tower. There was no point in denying it, Kate was exhausted. Her hands were rubbed raw from the rope, the exertion was making it hard to breathe from her already burning lungs and all her muscles were spasming.

'Why have you stopped?' cried the little girl who was swinging ten feet above Kate's head.

'S-sorry I-just need a-break' gasped Kate who had begun to panic slightly. She had never felt so physically helpless before and it was starting to scare her.

'Kate, you can have your break once I'm not swinging fifteen feet off the ground and once we've rescued Rhonda, Number Two and Milligan, okay?' said Constance kindly yet firmly.

Kate nodded and with the thought of seeing Milligan again in her mind, gritted her teeth and pulled. Once Constance was tugged through the window by Reynie and had tied her end of the rope to something secure inside the room, Kate began the painful task of hauling herself up. It came as a great relief when she felt Reynie's hands grab hold of her and drag her through the window where she collapsed onto the floor, taking great laboured breaths.

'What's wrong Kate?' Reynie asked urgently as he crouched beside her.

'N-nothing' she spluttered as she forced herself up again. Swaying slightly, she scanned the room through blurry eyes, taking in the bizarre sight of Rhonda, Number Two, Constance and Sticky struggling silently to undo the handcuffs until at last her gaze fell upon the body lying limp on the floor.

'Milligan!' she croaked as she stumbled over to her father. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked down at the mess he was in as she gently brushed the hair from his eyes. He didn't stir. As Kate brushed away her tears she felt a sudden surge of anger coarse through her at what had been done to her father and her friends. Snatching a hairgrip from her pocket, she quickly unlocked the handcuffs around Milligan's wrists and ankles. Then she strode over to Rhonda and Number Two, barged Constance and Sticky out the way and within seconds, both pairs of handcuffs fell to the ground with a clatter. Suddenly Kate found herself about to unlock the door.

'Kate? What are you doing? There's Ten Men the other side!' whispered Reynie, grabbing her shoulder.

Kate stood still, sensing that everyone was staring at her. For half a moment, she had been compelled to barge straight through the door and seek revenge on the Ten Men outside for what they had done without showing them any mercy. Kate sighed. She wouldn't risk the safety of her friends by letting her emotions control her.

'Come on' she said turning back to her friends, 'lets get out this room.'


	7. The Bear's Den

Reynie and Kate had just finished lowering a limp Milligan to the ground where he was collected into the arms of Rhonda and Sticky. The two in the tower watched on as Constance and Number Two started to fuss over Milligan, wrapping him up in their own jumpers to protect him from the cold, cruel breeze. Kate wiped a tear from her eye.

'Hey, you okay?' whispered Reynie when he heard Kate sniff.

'What? Yeah, yeah I'm fine' shrugged Kate, failing to hide her face in time. Reynie sighed and put his arm around her shoulder.

'It is okay to admit you're not fine sometimes, you know?' he said comfortingly.

'I know it is, but I won't' Kate sniffed, wiping her eyes. 'I've always seen Milligan as indestructable, but seeing him in this state makes me realise how fragile he is and how, if anything happened to any of you, I'd-'

'Oi! What's taking so long?' hissed Constance from the ground, 'we're on a mission that requires _speed_ you know?!'

Kate and Reynie rolled their eyes, surpressing small smiles.

'Nothing's going to happen to any of us' assured Reynie as he gestured for Kate to go down the vine rope first.

'It's just a feeling that something's going horribly wrong' she mumbled as she perched on the windowsill.

'Well, you did nearly die a few hours ago and Mr Curtain has some new evil plan to create chaos' laughed Reynie casually, trying to cheer Kate up a bit, but internally he was very worried. It was most unusual for the almost eternally optimistic Kate to be this down, especially as they had succeeded in rescueing their three friends.

Kate gave a small, sarcastic smile and then proceeded to half jump, half slide down the vine rope before landing firmly on the ground and scooping Milligan up into her arms. Reynie was halfway through more hesitantly sliding down the rope when a low hum and crackling noise began to pulse through the crisp morning air.

'What on earth?' questioned Rhonda as Reynie reached the ground and they all glanced around, trying to find the source of the strange noise.

'It sounds like it does when you stand under a pylon after it's rained' said Constance thoughtfully. Immediately, Reynie and Sticky clapped their hands to their foreheads.

'Of course!' they said simultaneously.

'All the turbine power must be being redirected here, right now!' cried Sticky, reaching for his spectacles.

'Then we have to hurry!' cried Number Two, shaking her arms wildly. Constance peered at her, concerned.

'What about Milligan?' asked Rhonda, looking at Kate. 'I'm sorry but we can't carry him everywhere' she added apologetically.

'I know' Kate sighed, blowing a stray hair out of her eye. 'I'll carry him until we can find somewhere safe to put him' she said, looking down at her father's bruised face lovingly.

Rather slowly, Kate and Rhonda carried Milligan as they followed behind the others. As they neared the courtyard, the electric hum got louder and pressure seemed to build in their ears. Constance spotted a small, delapidated building with broken windows which turned out to be an old classroom. Carefully, Kate and Rhonda hauled Milligan through the spiky, overgrown windowpane and lay him down, hiding him behind several desks that had been abandoned when the institute closed.

'He'll be alright here, Kate' said Rhonda, noting Kate's anxious face. 'I've known Milligan for a very long time now and he always bounces back from things, whatever they may be.'

Kate smiled at Rhonda's words and nodded in agreement. Milligan always bounced back, even from losing almost his entire memory. Over the years, Kate had come to see Rhonda as an older sister and consequently, Rhonda could always reassure Kate in ways that sometimes the others couldn't. Just as girls turned to climb back through the window to where the others were waiting, they both caught a glimpse of movement from out of the corner of their eyes. Instantly, they had both ducked behind a desk for cover and remained crouched on the balls of their feet, eyes peeled, searching for the source of movement.

'Outside the door' breathed Rhonda into Kate's ear. Through the old classroom door with it's little window down one side, Kate could see the silhouettes of two, tall people standing, having a heated discussion.

'I swear I heard noises from down here McCraig! Scraping noises and murmurs like-'

'Really Hertz. Do you suppose that all the mice and rats that now call this place home were having a nice little chat? Perhaps over a cup of tea?' McCraig said as his voice, dripping with sarcasm, floated through the door.

'Obviously not McCraig' Hertz replied coldly before mumbling something inaudible that caused McCraig to mumble something inaudible yet harsh back. Just at this moment, while Kate and Rhonda were crouched, muscles burning, hardly daring to breathe, Milligan moaned in pain. An uncomfortably load moan of pain. Kate had to restrain herself from slapping her forehead.

'What was that?' said McCraig sharply, spinning round to face the classroom door.

'Probably just a mouse' replied Hertz saracastically. The sound of a slap resonated through the walls.

Suddenly, McCraig threw open the door with such force it fell off one hinge. Light from the corridor flooded into the room and Kate and Rhonda shrank behind the desk, desperately hoping that Milligan was well hidden from view. From their shadowy corner, the two women could see the two Ten Men scour the cobwebbed, broken mess of the old classroom inch by inch. The men cautiously stepped further into the room, flooding the air with expensive cologne. Kate tensed up, ready to spring as the Ten Men drew nearer to the place where Milligan was hidden but suddenly the Ten Men stopped their search and each held a hand up to their earpieces

'You heard that? Mr Curtain wants us downstairs now' whispered Hertz.

'Of course I heard it' scolded McCraig, pointing dramatically to his own earpiece, his eyes still sweeping the room. With a final suspicious gaze around the room, McCraig and Hertz left, not bothering to close the door. Kate and Rhonda simultaneously released the breath they had been holding, hid Milligan more securely and then climbed back out the window to where the others were anxiously waiting.

With Kate and Rhonda in the lead, they all ran, occasionally stumbling, back to the cliff top, down the steps and to the entrance of the cave. Here they paused, a strange feeling washing over them as they caught their breath. The warm breeze being emitted from the cave and the electrifying hum that had filled the air of the entire island forced a sense of forboding upon them all.

'Right' said Rhonda, shaking her head to focus herself, 'we need a plan-'

'We need to disable whatever Mr Curtain's new machine is, that's the plan' interrupted Constance. Rhonda looked down at Constance scowling while the small girl just shrugged, 'that's what we've got to do, so let's go and do it!' she said, dodging past Number Two and running into the cave.

'That girl..' mumbled Number Two angrily as they begrudglingly followed Constance into the cave.

'Seriously Constance you can't just run into the bear's den like this' whispered Sticky angrily as they crept deeper into the cave. The air was getting hotter and more humid by the second, so much so that Sticky's glasses kept slipping off his nose.

'Whatever' replied Constance, her cheeks turning very rosy in the heat. The cave took a sharp left and the rocky ceiling suddenly dipped down, forcing Sticky and Reynie to duck to avoid scraping their heads. The overwhelming stench of seaweed had diminished to a faint odour and ahead, a bright white light filtered down through the tunnel, casting strange shadows on the wall.

At the exact moment they rounded the bend, Reynie felt a peculiar coldness and emptiness behind him. He turned and physically felt the blood drain from his face.

'Um guys, where's Rhonda and Number Two?' whispered Reynie slightly hysterically. The others whipped round and stared blankly into the darkness behind them which was once occupied by their older friends.

'They were literally right behind me!' he added as they all stood stock still, listening intently for any sign of movement. The roof of the cave seemed to press even lower down upon them as they huddled together, scared of things that could not be seen as they listened to the eerie echos of dripping water.

'Well, I guess we can assume that Mr Curtain knows we're here now' said Kate brightly after a few moments of absolute silence. Before any of the others could ask how that was even remotely a good thing, a sharp voice with an unmistakable English accent rang out of the darkness.

'You assume correctly Miss Wetherall! Now you don't have to worry about running into him, how _reassuring_ for you!' laughed the cruel, well educated voice maniacally, echoing through the cave. Constance clapped her hands over her ears. Quite suddenly, a woman appeared right in front of Sticky's face. Sticky jumped in the air in fright, hitting his head on the low ceiling.

'The assassin!' he screeched in pain and shock.

The woman laughed cruelly at Sticky's alarm as the Benedict Society shuffled closer together and took in the appearance of Mr Curtain's newest team member in the dim light. White flaxen curls cascaded down her black, fitted business jacket, only tamed by two braids to keep the hair from her heavily eyelinered icey, penetrating gaze. At the waist of her pencil skirt sat a holster in which nestled a handgun and as far as Kate could make out, at least three laserpointers. Kate smirked when she looked down at the woman's feet and saw that she was wearing stilettos.

'Don't smirk my dear, it's rude' scolded the woman as she whipped out the handgun and pointed it at Kate who inwardly glupped. 'Now turn and walk to the light like good little children' she said mockingly cheerful. Kate felt a rapid surge of anger coarse through her and she clenched her fists to stop herself from punching this awful woman in her smug face and then consequencely, getting herself shot. Reynie noticing this, gave Kate a small smile as they trudged towards the end of the tunnel.

'We're _not_ children!' bristled Constance furiously, clearly feeling the same way towards this woman as Kate.

'Well the others may not be but _you,_ little Miss Contraire, most certainly are!' replied the woman, patting Constance on the head. Constance almost turned around to try and bite her but Reynie and Sticky both put a hand on her back to force her forwards.

'What have you done with Rhonda and Number Two?' asked Reynie as they neared the end of the tunnel.

'Oh don't worry sweetie, they're reunited with Milligan again-'

'WHAT?!' yelled Kate, spinning around so fast that no one realised what was happening until the woman had Kate in a choke hold and had her head pressed uncomfortably hard against the rough tunnel wall.

'Yes we found Milligan in your frankly terrible 'hiding' place' explained the woman calmly as Kate struggled to throw the woman off her and breathe. Sticky felt an unexpected rush of hatred and without knowing what he was doing ran at the woman, until she pointed her handgun right at his heart.

'Keep walking' she spat, dropping the mock cheerful demenour. With the woman dragging Kate along they walked out of the tunnel and into an extremely bright room. The assassin let go of Kate and suddenly disappeared as the Mysterious Benedict Society stood still, momentarily blinded by the light. Without really being aware of it, their hands were bound by Ten Men who suddenly appeared from where the assassin had disappeared. Kate was the only one who struggled and even she was half hearted, because she, like the others were distracted by trying to make sense of what they were seeing.

'What on earth?' said Constance, Reynie and Sticky simultaneously as they gazed open mouthed in incredulation at the bizzareness of the contraption that lay before them. Through the wall came eight spinning rods of metal that fed into large box which Sticky knew to be a complex system of converters and resistors. A thick wire led from the box to a solitary computer set up on a desk in the middle of the room and finally from the computer hardrive sprung, Sticky estimated seven- hundred and fifty, possibly seven- hundred and sixty wires that were plugged into the opposite wall.

Sat at the computer desk was a tall, bespectacled gentleman wearing a green plaid suit, typing rapidly with long fingers. With great dramatics, Mr Curtain raised his index finger and slowly pressed what the Society could only assume to be the enter key.

'I understand you've had the pleasure of getting acquainted with Miss Rix' said Mr Curtain, lazily standing up and stretching. Miss Rix laughed somewhere out of sight.

'Can't say it was particularly pleasant, her unfortunate face kept burning my poor eyes' replied Constance scathingly. Kate didn't bother to mask her bark of laughter while Sticky and Reynie grimaced in despair at Constance's inability to leave their enemies as unprovoked as possible.

'You are still an insolent child I see' sighed Mr Curtain, 'I thought my brother would have raised you better than that but never mind.'

Constance furiously spluttered out that Mr Benedict had raised her amazingly but Mr Curtain wasn't listening. He raised a hand to silence her.

'Now I know what you're all like so you're all going to remain nicely tied up and under guard while I get things started.' Suddenly, McCracken, Sharpe, Garrotte and Crawlings grabbed each member of the Society non to gently, seperated them and tied them to a metal handrail close to the spinning rods. McCracken grinned at Kate as he tied her hands, feet and waist to the pole while she furiously struggled against him.

'I wouldn't struggle like that if I was you darling, you know what happened to your father' he smiled menacingly, delighted at the memory of torturing Milligan.

'I'm going to _obliterate_ you when I get a chance!' spat Kate. McCracken chuckled and patted her on the head with his huge hand.

'Unfortunately for you by the time you get a chance' grinned Mr Curtain who had come over to them once they were securely tied, 'you won't even remember who you are.'


End file.
